Amazon will no longer be selling books that it feels “frame LGBTQ+ identity as a mental illness.” The company announced the decision in a letter to Republican senators on Thursday, The Wrap has confirmed.
The letter came in response to Senators Marco Rubio of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah, Mike Braun of Indiana, and Josh Hawley of Missouri, who had reached out to Amazon at the end of February inquiring about why “When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment,” written by Ryan T. Anderson and published in 2018, was no longer available on Amazon, Kindle, or Audible.
The book had previously existed on the platforms for three years, having been deemed acceptable in previous discussions. But, according to the letter, “We carefully consider the content we make available in our stores, and we review our approach regularly,” which resulted in the book being pulled.
“In this case, we have chosen not to sell books that frame LGBTQ+ identity as a mental illness,” Amazon wrote. Amazon had no further comment on the decision to pull the book and did not provide a list of any other titles that have been pulled.
The official description for “When Harry Became Sally” includes the assertion that “Everyone has something at stake in the controversies over transgender ideology, when misguided ‘antidiscrimination’ policies allow biological men into women’s restrooms and penalize Americans who hold to the truth about human nature.”
GLAAD, a leading LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, praised Amazon’s decision.
“There’s an antiquated and shameful history of equating LGBTQ identity to mental illness, and Amazon’s decision to stop selling books that falsely equate the two is a positive step in ending the misinformation campaign against LGBTQ people, especially trans youth, meant only to cause harm,” a spokesperson told TheWrap. “This book is dangerous and harmful to trans kids, and those who are looking for information about trans identity should not look to resources written by someone who has made their livelihood by publishing screeds against the trans community.”
According to Amazon, Anderson’s distributor was notified via email of the decision to pull “When Harry Became Sally.” In response, Anderson himself posted a series of tweets, expressing his disappointment and accusing Amazon of having never read the book. “Please quote the passage where I ‘call them mentally ill.’ You can’t quote that passage because it doesn’t exist,” Anderson tweeted.
Amazon appears to have never read my book, but relied on hit pieces. As I pointed out before: “Please quote the passage where I ‘call them mentally ill.’ You can’t quote that passage because it doesn’t exist.” https://t.co/aN06WrLmxz
— Ryan T. Anderson (@RyanTAnd) March 12, 2021
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